Process and apparatus for carbonizing wood and other carbonaceous material



J. F. WELLS;

' PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR- CARBONIZING WOOD AND OTHER CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 16, 919.

Patented July 5, 1921.

UNITED, STATES JOHN FREDERICK WELLS, OIKOAIBDQEGTP'I.

rnoczsss AND APIABA'I'USI'OR GABZ BONIZING WdOD Specification of Letters Patent r To all wkomz't mqfr concern:

Wenns, a subject .of the Kin of Great Britsin, of 36 Sharia Falakhin t e city of Cairo,

Egypt, have invented new and useful Improvements in Connection with Processes and A paratus for Carbonizing Wood and other arbonaceous Material, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a carbonizing wood, vegetable matter, peat, coal, lignite or other carbonaceous material.

.The object of the invention is to provide an improved carbonizing rocess of aicontinuous character which s all enable charcoal to be. produced from waste vegetable matter such as scrub, brush, cotton sticks, straw,- and the like, in which the heat, or a portion bf the heat, evolved by the combustion of the volatile matter is utilized for efiecting carbonization.

. According to this invention the material to be treated is passed into a vertical chamberand the heat for the distillation of the substantial proportion of the heavy hydrocarbons that still remain in the wood, coal or other material on its arrival at or approaching the grate, the temperature be ng ao'regulated to produce this effect by varying the speed of removal of the charcoal or other material and the suction on the outlet. of the apparatus At the moment when the portion of the volatile constituentsis being 85 tom of the chamber is withdrawn. As the carbonized material is withdrawn its'place is tak eii by a from which t e lighter volatile constituents 40 hava been driven off by the heat from the combustion of the gases or volatile products rising from the bottom of the chamber. The process is thus of a continuous character and co Q bustion is effected only at the bottom offii he carbonizing chamber, the air supply bihg limited to. that required to support such combustion. The moment when the last portion of the volatile constituents is being consumed is' approximately the moment when the products of combustion cease to be of a darkcolon Apparatus suitable for carrying out/this invention is illustrated diagrammaticallyin '1 the accompanyi drawing which is a view {I ,of theapparatus'm vertical section.

is formed an annular space -a the depth of the .u per en T P mass is obtained from the combustion of a bar (I asses throng per chamber ainto consumed the carbonized material at the botrtion of the descending fuel' Ann camionacnous Patented July 5, 921.

Iappllcation filed. December is, m Serial seesaw.

- The apparatus comprises a central shaft orho per a nto which the material to be treate is delivered and falls direct into the carbonizm chamber b. The lower end of th1s .cham r 1s glrovidcd with a grate 0 inclined downwar y and pivotal! mounted opposite to rotatable blades 0' which latter when rotated serve to remove the carbonized material from the grate c'and pass it outward. Thehopper ais divided into upper and lower chambers separated by a a a horizontal partition a having a central opening (0. Within the lower chamber a sald chamber and into this annular space the gases evolved from the combustion of thematerial ass byway of openings a at of the chamber a.

he are drawn away from the bottom of the annular space by a pipe a. In the vertical axis of the hopper a there may be'arran d a rod or bar d which passes through t e chambers a a and, is-provided. as to its central portion with projections d inclined downwardl The upper end of the 'a ball-and-socket joint a 1n t 0 cover a of the hopper a and is connectedwlth suitable meansfor reciprocatmg the bar to-push the fuel from the up the lower chamber a through the o ning 0.

Assuming t e apparatus above described to be in operation the chambers a and b will contain the material under treatment in diflerent stages of-carbonization. The ma- "0 ofthe gases evolved from the combustion of ,the' material in the chamber 6 and also to the heat of the gases in the annular space 9surrmmding the chamber c the material in this chamber being thu'spartially carbon-- ized.- The material in the chamber 6 is in further state of carbonization and while the last portion of the volatile constituents is being evolved the carbonized material is withdrawn by rotating the addl'es c and {causing the charcoal tobe rawn through the reservoir 6? containing water.

By means of this apparatus I am enable to produce the maximum of low temperature 1 charcoal, or I may produce a lower percentage of charcoal at a higher temperature by increasing the uantity of gas or char- .coal burnedand'wlthdrawing the charcoal tity of'gas "ev0s1ved"is increased andis'at its maximum at the momentnof.,complete gasification of the charcoal formed, the ap; paratns then working aswan ordinary fox m of'gaeprodncei. I

The Working of the appziratus is con= trolled by regulating {the rate or ve1oeity*at which the "gases are drewn from the annu- 1m chamber a. A

What I claimas my invention angldesire The continuous; process for earboniz ing Wood,vegetab1e, peat, 'edel ligmte and other;

earbonaeeous mate'1 ia1; eon isting inehargnng va .vertlcal 1 chamber Wrth the 'materlel to o tion ofthetolatile constituents is being 0on sumed; themeterial Withdrawn being replaced by a portion of the des cending fuel,

from which the lighter volatileconstituents stantlally as settforth.

,- JOHN FnEnERieK nmg. 1

have been driven'olfi by the heat from the combustion of the I gases o! volatile prodnctsf ,risingifrom the bottom of the'eharnber, 1; 

